Israeli forces trisect Gaza, kill 50 terrorists

Sunday, January 04, 2009 |
Israel Today Staff

While Israeli military commanders have censored exact details of the ongoing ground forces operation in Gaza, local Palestinian confirmed on Sunday that the Israelis have cut the coastal strip into three parts.

That is a typical tactic used by Israel in the past in order to prevent the transfer of arms and men from and to different parts of Gaza while Israeli forces are operating there.

Again citing local Palestinians, Israel's Channel 2 News reported that Israeli forces had set up a staging area on the ruins of the former Jewish community of Netzarim in apparent preparation to encircle nearby Gaza City.

The IDF estimated that its initial push into Gaza left more than 50 Hamas terrorists dead. More than 20 Israeli soldiers were wounded, two seriously, in the heavy fighting that greeted the incursion.

Meanwhile, Hamas continued to fire rockets into southern Israel on Sunday, wounding three people. A total of 25 rockets hit Ashkelon, Ashdod, Sderot and many smaller towns during the morning hours.

Another woman was wounded on Saturday when a Palestinian missile scored a direct hit on her home in the town of Netivot.

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